Hydrogels have been extensively explored for biomedical applications due to their ability to absorb high water content in its structure, which gives excellent biocompatibility. This work aims at obtaining biocompatible hydrogels with potential for use in increasing the mechanical strength of bone substitutes, or controlled drug release. Poly (N-vinyl-2-pyrrolidone) hydrogels were prepared by free radical polymerization with and without the addition of acrylic acid. Azobisisobutyronitrile and ammonium persulfate were used as initiator and N,N-methylenebisacrylamide was used as the crosslinking agent. The characterization of the hydrogels was performed by thermogravimetric analysis, differential scanning calorimetry, infrared spectroscopy and swelling properties. The results obtained demonstrate different degrees of crosslinking and swelling of up to 490 ± 30%. The different properties of the hydrogels suggest different applications.

The aim of this paper was to prepare a poly (vinylidene fluoride) (PVDF) membrane using different non-solvents in the coagulation bath for the phase inversion method. In order to increase the mechanical strength of membranes, facing the pressure of work, was used a macro-porous polyester support. The morphology and structure of the resulting membranes were evaluated by scanning electron microscopy, porosity measurements, water and 1-octanol uptake, contact angle, pure water flux, hydraulic permeability and hydraulic resistance. The morphology and pure water flux changed significantly using ethanol (symmetric membrane) and/or water (asymmetric membrane) as the non-solvent. The symmetric membrane presented a high hydrophobic surface (water contact angle ~136º) and a higher pure water flux and porosity than the asymmetric membrane, which presented a lower hydrophobicity surface (water contact angle ~90º). The morphologies obtained suggest different applications.

The membranes properties prepared from water/formic acid (FA)/ polyamide 66 (PA66) and water/hydrochloric acid (HCl)/polyamide 66 (PA 66) systems has been studied. The different solvents interact distinctly with the polymer, affecting the membrane morphology. The asymmetric structure of the membranes showed a dense top layer and a porous sublayer. The membranes M-HCl prepared from HCl/PA 66 system showed a larger dense layer (around 23 μm) in compared to those prepared from FA/PA 66 system (M-FA) (around 10 μm). The membrane morphology was a determinant factor in results of water absorption, porosity and pure water flux. The lower thickness of dense layer in M-FA membranes resulted in a higher water absorption and, consequently, porosity, approximately 50%, compared with M-HCl membranes, approximately 15%. The same trend was observed to permeate flux, the lower thickness of dense layer higher pure water flux.